Russian Women's Curling Team Off to a Winning Start

SOCHI — Russia's women's curling team started its campaign for a first-ever Olympic medal on Monday by defeating Denmark in the first round robin session of the tournament.

The Russians, captained by 2012 European champion Anna Sidorova, stormed to a 7-4 victory at Sochi's Ice Cube arena.

The hosts nearly blew a 4-1 lead as the Danes leveled the scores by the eighth end. But Russian vice-captain Margarita Fomina scored two points in the penultimate end and the Russians saw out the victory.

"We are all people and we all make mistakes," Sidorova said. "I'm not afraid to admit my mistakes, but I try to make as few as possible. Today, the result is more important than the performance."

Reigning champion Sweden started the defense of its title with a hard-fought 6-4 win over Britain, a team comprised entirely of Scottish players who won the world gold in 2013.

Canada, runner up in 2010 in Vancouver, had little trouble defeating China, finishing the match 9-2 with three ends to go.

Two-time Olympic silver medalist Switzerland also successfully started with a win, beating the United States 7-4.

The Olympic curling tournament features a round robin tournament where everyone plays everyone else and the top four teams in the final standings progress to the playoffs.

No normalization of ties between Ukraine and Russia is likely unless the region of Crimea, now under Russian control, is returned to Kiev's sovereignty, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin said Tuesday.

Boris Nemtsov, an outspoken critic of President Vladimir Putin and Russia's role in the Ukraine crisis, has been shot dead outside the Kremlin in a murder that underscored the risks taken by the Russian opposition.

The murder of Kremlin critic Boris Nemtsov has dampened any hope for a peaceful political transition in Russia away from President Vladimir Putin's government, Garry Kasparov, a prominent opposition voice, has said.

A spokesperson for Moscow's information technology department has denied media reports that some of the surveillance cameras around the Kremlin had been switched off at the time of Boris Nemtsov's murder.

The U.S. State Department and FBI have announced a $3 million reward for information leading to the arrest or conviction of Russian Yevgeny Bogachev, the highest bounty U.S. authorities have ever offered in a cyber case.